But Albayrak claims Bilic is not interest in signing Gomez after taking a phone call from the Hammers boss on Tuesday, adding that Besiktas are still hoping to lure the forward back to Turkey despite Barca and Dortmund moving ahead in negotiations.

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President Fikret Orman said: “Balotelli is the type of footballer that our fans can associate themselves with. In short, we want Mario Balotelli and he wants us too.”

However, there appears to be an internal war at the club over their interest in the Italian, with boss Senol Gunes ruling out a move just days later after insisting: “Balotelli is not part of my plans. I have never heard anything positive about him.”